There is little known about the consumer that purchases in the practitioner channel. Who is the typical consumer purchasing in the practitioner channel? How do they become engaged in the channel? How loyal are they?
With this study, NBJ set out to answer some of these questions. We surveyed more than 1,400 consumers who had visited at least one doctor in the last year and who predominantly take at least one dietary supplement on a regular basis. The survey was fielded to a mix of general consumers as well as more core consumers; therefore, some overall findings are skewed to a more health conscious consumer.
As the goal of this study was to understand the drivers that resulted in consumers purchasing supplements through the practitioner channel, it was important that we talked to consumers who had visited at least one practitioner in the last year. The study disqualified 7% of US adults because they hadn’t visited any practitioners in the last year.
Engagement with supplements
As the Council for Responsible Nutrition showed in its 2016 consumer study, 71% of American adults are taking dietary supplements at some level—a significant rise from the essentially steady 68% reported for their last 5 annual studies. A larger percentage of women use supplements compared to men, across most major supplement categories, with the exception of sports nutrition and weight management supplements. Multivitamins continue to be the most used supplement, with 75% of U.S. adult supplement users taking these supplements according to CRN.
While supplements, especially multivitamins, are becoming more targeted to various age and gender groups, and most manufacturers are now advertising their supplements according to condition specific usage, consumers still associate better with a specific vitamin or supplement, such as vitamin D or probiotics, rather than condition specific formulas. Only 6% of the consumers NBJ surveyed self identified as taking a condition specific supplement, with immunity, hair/skin/nails, and brain health being the most popular formulations.
NBJ found that 78% of the consumers surveyed were taking supplements to help with overall body health while 47% were trying to prevent future diseases or conditions and 45% wanted to optimize nutritional intake. CRN has long reported that overall health/wellness benefits are the top reason consumers take supplements, with 42% holding this view in 2016 (down from 51% in 2015). Energy (30%) and filling in nutrition gaps (28%) are the next most cited reasons as reported by CRN. Comparison of these studies indicates that while NBJ purposefully spoke with a more supplement and practitioner focused group of consumers, the supplement ideals these consumers hold are in line with the general consumer population.
Health concerns
The large majority (92%) of surveyed consumers has suffered from a health concern in the last year, with allergies, anxiety or stress, and lack of energy each being cited by around one-third of the population.
Most interestingly, consumers are actively turning to supplements to address many of their health concerns. Of the 31 specific health concerns that NBJ asked consumers about, there were 19 conditions where 50% or more of the consumers affected by the condition started taking supplements to try to address the problem. There were only 4 conditions for which less than 35% of sufferers looked to supplementation. Among the most common conditions, 71% of those suffering from a lack of energy or digestive issues turned to supplements.
The seriousness of the health concern is a big factor for consumers. As one 45-54-year old female experiencing eyesight degradation related her reaction to her doctor’s supplement recommendation, “If you want to continue to see, this is what you do. Period. I had no second thoughts. It was go home and do this.”
A health professional’s recommendation was the most cited reason (63%) for starting a supplement regimen to address health concerns.
Engagement with practitioners
Consumers are engaging with a wide range of practitioners, averaging visits to nearly five different practitioners over the course of the last year. Visits to the dentist and general practitioner were most common, but a wide array of allopathic and alternative medicine practitioners was also visited.
Consumer’s trust in the practitioners they visit is generally high (averaging 5+ out of 7), and this trust is encouraging them to listen to their doctor’s recommendations to take supplements.
The practitioner-patient relationship is an important trigger for sales in the practitioner channel. Indeed, 78% of consumers reported that at least one of their practitioners recommended a supplement in the last year. More than 80% of consumers who visited an integrative medicine practitioner or nutritionist reported a supplement recommendation from their pracitioner while a strong 61% of those visiting a general practitioner were advised to take a supplement.
Unfortunately, 60% of those consumers who received a doctor recommendation of a supplement reported that the doctor didn’t sell the supplement in their office.
When consumers experienced the perfect storm of a doctor who recommended and sold the supplement, the likelihood of consumer engagement was strong. Of the 32 areas of practitioner specialty considered, at least 45% of patients purchased the recommended supplements from these dispensing practitioners. In fact, for 25 of these 32 practitioner specialties, more than 80% of patients purchased the recommended supplements.
Trust that the doctor is getting them exactly what they need is the biggest driver of that first supplement purchase in the practitioner channel (65%) while trust in the quality of the product is also a factor (34%). Convenience is also important (36%), as it allows the patient to immediately act on the recommendation. Consumers reported that 86% of the time they purchased the recommended supplement in the doctor’s office initially if it was offered.
Convenience is one of the most important drivers for consumers straying to other channels in making future purchases (51%), though price is even more important (58%).
For those who declined to purchase a recommended supplement through their practitioner, high price was the most cited reason (61%). However, preferences for other brands was also an important factor for 28% of those consumers who didn’t purchase ANY supplement in the channel.
Consumer demographic/psychographics
Identifying the consumer who is most likely to purchase through the practitioner channel isn’t easy.
Millennials currently tend to spend a little less on supplements than older consumers, and they are slightly less likely to purchase all of the recommended supplement from a practitioner because of price concerns. However, 60% of millennials did indicate that at least some of their annual supplement spend was in the practitioner channel, which is only slightly less than the 62% of all consumers surveyed who indicated that they purchased some supplements in the practitioner channel.
While the CDC’s 2014 National Health Interview Survey indicated that only 77% of males had visited a doctor or other health care professional in the last year versus 88% of women, and the NBJ study found that males see fewer doctors (3.9 on average vs. 5.1 for women), NBJ found that among supplement users that have visited practitioners in the last year, men were nearly as likely as women to purchase recommended supplements from a dispensing practitioner (83% vs. 86%) and were generally allocating the same share of their supplement purchases to the practitioner channel (about 12% on average).
Consumers who indicated they were purchasing more than 20% of their supplements through the practitioner channel (let’s call them High Practitioner Purchasers or HPP consumers for short) averaged a slightly higher household income (about $74k/yr rather than $69k/yr overall) and consisted of a larger population of African Americans (about 12%, though sample size was small).
Who is the practitioner channel consumer?
The HPP consumers who participated in the NBJ study are more likely to value the advice of an integrative practitioner, but they still trust MDs. They are willing to pay a premium for higher quality supplements and are likely more committed to natural and organic food. Their exercise levels are about the same as the overall consumer population, but they are slightly more likely to be following a special diet, such as restricting carb intake.
A doctor recommendation is the most important driver for these HPP consumers, both in deciding to take supplements and when selecting brands. Fifty-eight percent cited a doctor recommendation as a factor for deciding to take supplements versus 30% for consumers not purchasing anything in the channel. Forty-four percent also consider a doctor’s recommendation when choosing which supplement product to purchase, versus 19% for non-channel purchasers. These HPP consumers may be less value-conscious, but it is still a concern for 30%, and while highest quality is important to 40%, that is nearly on par to the 37% of all consumers who cited quality as a brand selection consideration.
While HPP consumers are as likely to be affected by various health conditions as other consumers, they are much more likely to use supplements to address most of these health conditions. Eighty-three percent started taking a supplement to address at least one health condition versus 64% of general consumers. This is especially true for those suffering from diabetes, vision changes, and hormone/thyroid issues.
Across all consumers, health provider recommendations were the top source for information on using supplements to treat a condition, but HPP consumers were much more likely to cite this reason (79% vs. 63% overall). Interestingly, these purchasers were much less likely to use internet or personal research (37% vs. 56% overall) and scientific research (21% vs. 30% overall).
Thanks to a higher household income, these consumers are able to spend more on supplements, and they do, averaging $82/month across all channels versus $56/month for all consumers surveyed. HPP consumers on average spend $42/month on supplement purchases in the practitioner channel while those purchasing less than 20% of their supplements in the channel average only $5/month.
“Purchasing supplements can get to be pretty expensive. But for me, the extra time to try to find something that matches the protocol that [my doctors] are recommending means that I take the easy way out. I buy the supplements they sell because I can afford to do it” a 73-year old HPP consumer in Michigan told NBJ.
Engaging the consumer in the practitioner channel
While many consumers are willing to sample the practitioner channel, getting them to stay loyal to the channel isn’t easy. Only 42% of all consumers who purchased a supplement in the channel said they continued to purchase that supplement in the channel after the initial purchase, and 38% percent are switching at least some of their purchases outside the channel. Thirty-three percent of consumers switched to online retailers (including Amazon), while 24% went to natural food stores for their supplements.
The HPP consumers are more loyal to the channel than those consumers who are purchasing less than 20% of their supplements in the channel. Trust in the quality of the products may be a big factor here. Forty-four percent of HPP consumers indicated that trust in product quality drove them to purchase in the channel for the first time while only 29% purchasing at a lower level in the channel felt similarly.
While price was the biggest reason for switching channels (58%), convenience was also a big factor (51%). However, these factors combined for only 23% of consumers—proof for manufacturers that the conversation doesn’t have to be about price alone. It can be about improving convenience through features such as online ordering.
When HPP consumers switch to a different channel, they are most likely still purchasing the exact same product (48%). Those less dedicated to the channel are more likely to substitute with a similar product (36%) but also like the same
one (35%).
“I always get the exact same brand. They’re mixes. Even vitamin D–I’ve come to learn that the quality matters. I’m very sick, and I have to get every tool I possibly can to get myself better,” one women in Washington told NBJ.
Brand Awareness
Awareness of practitioner brands is low among the general population, with less than 20% recognition for these brands versus nearly 80% awareness for brands like One-a-Day and Nature Made. Even among consumers who are purchasing in the channel, brand awareness tends to be just of brands their doctors have recommended.
For practitioner brands that a consumer is aware of, Pure Encapsulations and Thorne Research ranked the highest as brands that these consumers purchased in the last year, with just less than half purchasing these brands.
The internet draw
The internet plays an important role as a research source, price comparison tool and deal provider. A full 23% of the consumers surveyed “always” or “usually” shop for supplements in the internet channel. Only 28% never shop in the internet channel versus 43% who never shop in the practitioner channel.
Consumers in the practitioner channel are nearly as likely as non-purchasers to buy at least some supplements online. HPP consumers buying via Amazon are usually spending a smaller percentage of their supplement budget there (averaging 37%) compared to non practitioner channel purchasing consumers (averaging 44%). HPP purchasers appear to switch to the internet channel when they can find their practitioner brand and it will save them money or provide more convenient product access, but they generally try to remain brand loyal.
However, consumers who are shopping in the practitioner channel are less reliant on the internet channel for information. Only 37% of HPP consumers looked to the internet for information to use supplements to address a health concern versus 63% for non-channel purchasers.
Healthy aging
Millennials are slightly more likely than older consumers to feel that they don’t know enough to make good healthy aging decisions. They are also less likely to believe that it is important to stay active to be healthy. Millennials who were HPP consumers feel more informed about making healthy aging decision and are more willing to pay a premium for high quality supplements. They are also more likely to purchase organic food. Really they fall into the same pattern as the overall HPP consumer.
Increasing your consumer base
Consumers are fairly steady in their purchases. Most don’t plan to make drastic changes to their supplement regimen in terms of supplement types or brands. They don’t plan to switch which doctors they see. It takes triggers, such as health concerns, that generally aren’t planned in advance.
Much of a practitioner channel supplement brand’s success is dependent on the practitioner. If the practitioner doesn’t recommend or sell your brand, the consumer never enters the equation. Once consumers are exposed to your brands initially, they are open to trial. One of the biggest ways that brands can help the consumer and gain loyalty is by offering them improved convenience, whether that is online ordering, easier access to information, or customized formulations–one click and it’s there exactly as they need it to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment